Eternal love and the such
by Redemtion13
Summary: Fear is a funny thing. Well, maybe Ron wouldn't use the word funny, but it was strange at least. How could a simple trip to the mall suddenly seem to daunting.


Please enjoy.

* * *

Fear is a funny thing. Well, maybe Ron wouldn't use the word funny, but it was strange at least.

In his short life but exciting life he had faced down spinning tops of doom, a femme fatale endowed with cosmic super powers, linebackers twice his size, mutated lake monsters, and so many more things than most people would care to list or even remember. But, and this was a very important but, he had always been able to conquer those fears and obstacles and move forward. He had been able to bite, claw and sometime retreat (or as he proffered to call it 'advancing towards future victory') out of every situation with only a few minor bumps and bruises. However, as he stared up at the daunting arena in front of him, Ron Stoppable felt like everything else in his life had been nothing more than practice. Taking in a deep breath he lifted his hand and pushed open the door… to the jewelry store.

As his feet crossed the threshold he almost expected a security guard to tackle him and demand why he was coming into the store. Even as he ran that scenario through his mind he had no idea why he was entering this store. He had just been talking around the mall, chillaxing with Rufus when he had spotted the store. He had passed it maybe a thousand times over and never had once even bothered to register its existence, and for good reason. He had had no reason.

Things were different now though.

Putting on a brave face he nodded curtly to the well-dressed woman who sat behind the glass counter. Though she ran a rather critical eye over his choice of clothing, she made no remark. Only saying "How may I help you today, sir?"

"I uh…" Ron paused. How could she help him? Looking around the store he realized he still had no godly idea why he had come in here. Swallowing hard he gave a half shrug. "Just looking?"

She narrowed her eyes slightly but nodded. "Alright, well. Please feel free to ask for any assistance."

"Will do." Ron said quietly before clearing his throat and trying again in a deeper voice. "I mean, thank you ma'am."

The saleswoman rolled her eyes and returned to the catalogue she had been reading before Ron had entered. Feeling slightly better with her eyes off him Ron begin to browse, feeling Rufus climb out of his pocket and up onto his shoulder. Starting on the nearest display case Ron almost instantly made a face and his displeasure was matched by the small "blech" Rufus made. The entire case was absolutely gaudy. Large ugly stones set into thick chunky metal. It reminded him of something that his grandmother would wear. It was defiantly not Kim-like.

The next section was mostly necklaces, but once again Ron just could quite find something that seemed right to him. Shaking his head he continued on, though Rufus popped off his shoulder and landed lightly on the counter, something obviously catching his eye. Letting his best friend go Ron continued on, completely bypassing the bracelets as the haunting memory of the Centurion Project flashed across his mind. He could do without ever having that happen again thank you very much.

The final, and by far most interesting section was filled with rings. Now for some reason, that just felt right.

"Oh." Ron said quietly to himself before feeling his pulse skyrocket. Rings. He was looking at rings. What did a ring mean? Was he moving too fast? What if Kim didn't like rings? How did you even know what size ring a girl wears? Was he a bad boyfriend for not knowing that? What if he got the wrong size and Kim thought he thought that she had fat fingers? But he didn't think she had fat fingers. She had beautiful fingers.

His phone was halfway out of his pocket to call Kim and inform her that she, in fact, did not have fat fingers before he regained control of his senses. Slowly letting go of the phone he let out a soft puff of air before turning back to the display case. Many of the rings were pretty, actually most of them were. The white lights of the display washing over the precious jewels set in the bands, making them sparkle like tiny stars. However, pretty as they were, none of them had… it. Running over each row meticulously Ron was just about to give up when he noticed one ring, nudged in the corner of the case almost like it had fallen.

"Uh, scuse me?" he called, drawing the attention of the saleswoman. "Could I see that ring?"

"Of course." She nodded, opening the case and fishing out the item. "Ah, it's a promise ring. Eternal love and the such."

As she held it up to the light Ron felt a goofy smile tug at the corner of his mouth. It was a simple silver ring, with a small diamond set in the middle. But it was the scattering of emeralds set around the diamond that drew his eye. They were the perfect shade of green. The same shade he saw every time he looked into his girlfriend's eyes.

Not ten minutes later Ron left the store with a new purchase locked away safely in his pocket. It would have been less than five, but it had taken an extra few minutes to convince Rufus that he did not need a golden ring that would double as a collar. Smile on his face he began to walk out of the mall when suddenly a new fear hit him.

And fear is a funny thing. Well, maybe Ron wouldn't use the word funny, but it was strange at least. He had faced down the mightily jewelry store and its lackey and emerged victorious and with treasure.

But now…

He had heard the expression "burning a hole in my pocket" used at least once before but he had never understood it until now. Suddenly, it felt as though the small purchase weighed a thousand pounds. Rooted to the spot for the moment Ron reached down and pulled the box up to his face, opening it slightly to peer at the object in question. Suddenly this seemed like a much bigger commitment than anyone could ever be ready for.

"Eternal love and the such."

"Oh man…"

* * *

Hope you enjoyed.

I just watched and episode of this show and figured I would see if I still had some fic in me.


End file.
